Back in College and due to a lack of a kitchen, I mostly go out to "Karinderya's to have my fill." However, during late night study sessions, there will often be stomach hunger calls.
It's hard to concentrate studying on an empty stomach, so I normally stock on canned goods. Still though, they're boring and tasteless. Being the resourceful type and being experimental, I often try new things. We cooked the food within the can, putting coal under it and let it boil, but there is one way I never tried. I ran into a this step by step process on how to smoke your own tuna. It's awesome, I tried it and with great results.
This was usually done by the Israeli soldiers because part of their ration was mostly tuna.
For your viewing, I've listed the steps below.
1. To do it you'll need tuna in any kind of oil, toilet paper and a source of flame, like a lighter. I also used a sheet pan to prevent making a mess and to transport the cans easily.
2. Open the cans and please, please, don't throw away the oil. Keep it all! Fold 3 sheets of toilet paper for each can. Double ply in this case. Don't ask me why, but napkins don't work as well. Really, I've tried and they don't keep the flame well.
3. Since these are smaller cans I cut the paper into smaller squares, just slightly bigger than the can. If you're using a big can, this step would not be necessary.
4. Push the sheets into the can being careful of not spilling the oil. Make sure the corners stick out. If you're patient, just wait until the oil gets all the way up to the corners. If you're impatient, just poke around a little until there are no dry spots.
5. Notice the small hole under the toilet paper where you can see the tuna. Leaving this opening is really, REALLY important because if you don't do so, the paper will end up creating a seal around the can and after a while of being lit, the pressure will blow off the paper, spraying hot oil everywhere. And that's not very fun, is it? (Okay, it is kinda fun because there's a loud pop, the paper jumps in the air, and the burn scars would make for great stories, but still... do this at your own risk.)
6. There's going to be plenty of smoke, so you'll probably want to move outside. Now you just need to light each corner and wait for the fire to spread.
7. There, all corners lit! Now just sit there looking at the mesmerizing flames, enjoying the light and the heat, wondering why you've been throwing away the oil of many, many cans of tuna and feeling like a badass because you're cooking with actual fire instead of just microwaving some noodles.
8. This picture was taken 5 minutes after lighting the paper. There was enough oil to keep the paper lit for almost 25 minutes. Ideally you'd want to wait until the flame goes out. But if you don't have enough time or just prefer a subtler flavor, just blow it out.
9. The flame is out, so we're back inside. The paper will still be in one piece, except for some ashes around, which aren't hard to keep out of the can.
10. The paper comes off in a single piece and it does so rather cleanly. (Are you really going to lick the paper? Really? Alright, who am I to tell you that you shouldn't lick those delicious pieces of smoked fish off the paper instead of throwing them away.)
11. And there you go! You learned how to turn a lame, average can of tuna into something amazing. Because surviving in a post-apocalyptic environment doesn't mean you need to give up on your gourmet lifestyle. Eat it while it's warm and enjoy!
It's real good and surprisingly filling. You really need to give it a try even though you're done with college.
How to Smoke Canned Tuna
